King of the Family
by Onshu Bastille
Summary: Ichigo Kurosaki has taken over the head of his father's mafia, the Family, bringing in his friends to expand his empire. Now a gang from lowly beginnings, the Espada, are posing a threat, and the authorities see their chance. AU, nice and violent.
1. Chapter 1

"Okay, boys and girls," Szayel's voice came through everyone's earpiece, "communications are up and running."

"Yammy and I are in place, watching his limousine pull up now. He has multiple goons, all armed," Ulquiorra's spoke in his usual monotone.

"Harribel, get there. Nnoitra, Grimmjow, are you in place?" Szayel continued.

"Yeah, yeah... Nothing in the back. He ain't escaping," Grimmjow yawned. Murmuring to himself, he lit a cigarette, "Don't see the big deal, it's just one guy."

"Almost there," Harribel said, the sound of her Yamaha could be heard.

"Alright, Yammy, get down to his dojo and wait for him." Leaning away from his microphone he yelled out to the front of the van, "Keep the engine running, Zommari." He only nodded.

"The guards are down," Aaroniero hissed into the radio.

"Starrk, where are you?" No one replied. "Starrk!"

Grimmjow laughed into his hidden microphone, "looks like someone took a nap... Lucky bastard..."

"Goddammit Starrk..." Everyone knew Szayel face palmed, "So I guess we're doing it without him... again..."

"Ready to go to work," Yammy snickered.

In the back of the van, Barragan sat across from Aizen. Neither one trying to look at the other. Aizen sipped on some tea, "Don't fret. Zaraki Kenpachi may be a monster, but he is far from invincible."

Barragan glanced over at him, "I'm not worried about that. I just don't like this van."

At the sound of the protest, Szayel rolled his chair around to face the other two, "Aw, that hurts my feelings..."

"Oh, shut up," the older Espada crossed his arms.

Outside, Harribel pulled up on her bike, grabbing everyone's attention. Kenpachi just smirked as she pulled off her helmet with a swish of her hair, "The hell she think she's at?" She just sat there, waiting. Shrugging it off, Zaraki fixed his coat and headed inside, "Watch her boys... I don't think I can take much more funny business today..."

Two of the guys started towards her, strutting all the way. Both were wearing fedoras and making their guns visible. Three others waited by the limo with smiles.

"Lost, are we?" One of the two grinned. Harribel gave a "are you kidding me?" look and reached to the backpack behind her on the motorcycle. All five guys immediately started to pull out their guns by reflex.

"Woah, guys," Harribel stopped moving all together—her hands in the backpack, "Can't a girl pull out her _toys_ without some hostility?"

All of the guys stopped instantly at the comment; each one starting to blush as their minds went to work. As she reached deeper in the backpack, she moved slower as all the guys stared unblinkingly.

Then someone cried out in pain inside the dojo and all five goons turned to see just as Harribel pulled out a tommy gun and let loose a stream of bullets. The two closest didn't have a chance, but the other three ducked behind the limousine. Every time one of them tried to peek out to shoot, she would shoot a short spray of bullets to make them retreat. Out of nowhere a rocket exploded into the limo, killing two of the three instantly; the third was bleeding and trying to get away when Harribel finished the job.

Across the street, Tousen tossed the empty RPG to the side while Gin leaned on his sniper rifle, chuckling, "My, my... Breaking out the big guns?"

Tousen walked away, apathetically, "Just following orders."

"Wasted if you ask me," Gin wore his ever present smile. He wasn't paid anymore attention.

"Guys! Help!" Yammy's voice called out over the radio. Then came three bangs and another yell. Harribel raised her gun and made her way for the front while Grimmjow and Nnoitra took off inside to help.

"We're coming Yammy!" Grimmjow threw his cigarette away as he put on his knuckle duster.

Laughter could be heard before another shot and another yell. "Who sent ya? Hmm?" Kenpachi asked. Grimmjow and Nnoitra turned the corner, ready but found Zaraki's .45 revolver waiting for them. Grimmjow dived back behind where they came from; Nnoitra tripped—barely missing the first bullet—then rolled back to his partner, dodging the second one as well. Kenpachi cursed as he tossed his empty revolver away and left the wounded Yammy where he was.

"Okay, shoot him!" Grimmjow half-whispered, half-yelled.

"I don't have a gun!" Nnoitra yelled back, pulling out a large dagger with a double crescent design in the hilt, "_You_ shoot him!"

"I don't have a gun either 'cause I thought _you_ had the gun!" Grimmjow pointed accusingly.

"Starrk has guns! He always has the guns!"

"Starrk's not here!" Grimmjow swung at Nnoitra who just ducked under, "And just 'cause he has guns doesn't mean we shouldn't have guns!"

"Then why don't you—" Nnoitra started before he was interrupted.

A sword sliced right above Grimmjow's head, stabbing into the corner. "Are you ladies done fussing yet?" Kenpachi grinned as he pulled back the sword for a second strike. The taller one lunged at their target, dagger leading the way. The entered a knife/sword fight as Grimmjow prepared to strike just in case.

"You've got balls, I'll give you that," Kenpachi laughed while keeping the dagger at bay. "But you should never bring a knife to a sword fight!" And with that, he instantly knocked the dagger away towards Grimmjow who barely dodged it. The giant leaned back, ready for the killing blow but then someone whistled. Everyone turned to look at the figure in the doorway.

"This is where I say something catchy," Starrk said then fired six times, hitting his target each time. Kenpachi started to fall over, catching himself with his sword. Starrk looked at the other two curiously, "Where're your guns?"

Before either could respond, Zaraki suddenly jumped at Grimmjow, throwing him in line of Starrk. "You're mine!" The bleeding giant ran toward the only one with a gun, using the helpless one as a sort of shield. Nnoitra reached for his dagger to throw while Starrk tried to duck to the side for a clear shot.

Then Kenpachi's body fell limply in mid-charge as blood sprayed from where a bullet pierced his skull.

"I hit 'em~?" Gin snickered over the radio. Everyone let out a universal sigh.

"Well, not the most _graceful_ job but pat yourselves on the back, we just made some money," Szayel played with his hair while talking through the radio.

"How's Yammy?" Harribel asked as she walked in the dojo, wearing a fedora.

"I've seen better days," Yammy half-laughed before coughin up blood.

"Asshole shot him in each leg and arm," Grimmjow spoke as he and Starrk tried to help their friend up to get him to the van.

Aizenn sighed and began tapping impatiently, "Either hurry or leave him." Everyone felt a nerve hit at the suggestion. Barragan shifted to look Aizen in the eyes, but it was Ulquiorra who caught Aizen's attention.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite hear you," Ulquiorra's eyes glared as he walked slowly down the van.

"Hurry up... or leave the dead weight..." The two glared at each other.

"Still didn't quite catch that..." He had nearly reached Aizen when a gun cocked. Tousen held his 9mm to Ulquiorra's head.

"Are you threatening _me_?" Aizen grinned.

Ulquiorra looked out the corner of his eye then back to Aizen, emotionless as always, "That depends... Say it again."

Another gun cocked. "Put it down," Starrk spoke to Tousen. "Ulquiorra, back off... We've had enough wounded..."

Tousen lowered his gun, as did Starrk, and Ulquiorra took his seat on the other side of the van, next to Yammy. He just crossed his arms and closed his eyes. Everyone else soon joined the rest inside, and they made their escape, leaving everything.

* * *

_**Not too long afterwords.**_**..**

"Hitsugaya Toshiro?" Officer Kaien looked confused at the sight of his fellow officer, "What's the Boy Genius doing here? Aren't you after that gang, Espada or something like that?"

The shorter cop walked over with his hands in his pockets. His partner, the busty Matsumoto, seemed either bored or tired or both. "That's why we're here. They were."

"Oh? What makes you say that?" Kaien looked down at his little note pad as if double checking, "We've checked out the weapons, and they all come from the Family. It seems like some internal conflict of some sort... question is why..."

Kaien looked around from the rooftop, like a hawk surveying the area.

Hitsugaya walked over next to him, "The reason is that they wanted it to _look_ like an internal conflict—a nice way to hide, dontcha think? Blaming someone else..."

"So the Espada were targeting this guy from the Family," Kaien considered this hypothesis for a moment. "This gang isn't exactly that high on the Family's priority list, so why go and piss them off?"

Someone brought Toshiro a cup of coffee. He sipped on it for a second, "Two possiblities: they're _capable_ of bringing down the Family, and they want them to know that—which means _we can too_," Hitsugaya couldn't help but smile, "or they just didn't know."

Kaien walked off with a wave, "Looks like we'll be working together then if our _baddies_ are crossing paths so."

Toshiro looked down at his coffee with a frown. "It's too hot."

* * *

"What the hell are you saying?" Barragan slammed his hand on his cut of the money.

"It's like I said," Szayel fixed his glasses, "The guy we just wacked was with the Family, and evidently they _really_ didn't appreciate the gesture."

Everyone seemed calm about this except Barragan; his mind went to work while he poured himself a drink. Something seemed to click in his head.

"Don't worry so much, we'll be gone before they even know where to look," Harribel spoke from under her new fedora.

Barragan looked at her slyly, "It's not that..."

Grimmjow walked in from the next room, grabbing a beer from the fridge. He made his way across the room, stopping next to Starrk. "Oh~ who's the text from!" He laughed, kneeling down.

Laying across the couch, Starrk closed his phone and gave his friend an annoyed glare, "Go away, please."

"Ha! I knew it!" Grimmjow snickered as he stood up and took a seat in a nearby chair. He slouched down in the chair with one arm thrown over the back side.

Starrk just shook his head and went back to his phone.

"Isn't she supposed to be in class right now?" He chuckled at his friend's expense.

"There's no point in telling you _once again_ that she's not _that_ young, is there?" Starrk leered.

Harribel got up and walked over to Grimmjow, "She is a bit young, Starrk, but don't let dickhead bother you." She slapped the back of Grimmjow's head, causing him to spill his beer, "I think it's sweet."

Nnoitra looked at his phone then tossed it to the side, "Yeah, even I'm a little jealous, man."

Everyone immediately knew that he was talking about his ex, Nel. Grimmjow started to make a joke but Harribel slapped him again.

A phone started to ring and everyone turned to watch Aaroniero answer his. He was sitting in a corner, hidden from the light so no one could really see him; everybody had thought he was sleeping. No one could make out exactly what was said over the phone, but they could tell it was Aizen. There was a pause as everyone waited for the two to finish.

"So," the Espada finally hung up, "Ulquiorra's still there with Yammy; Aizen, Gin, Tousen, and Zommari are all heading back."

Barragan chugged his third glass of strong smelling alcohol and started rubbing his chin, desperate to change the subject, "Who's running the Family, anyway? Isn't it Isshin Kurosaki?"

"Not anymore, it wasn't but a year or two ago that someone had him assassinated," Szayel gave his usual look while playing with his hair, "Now it's his son, Ichigo Kurosaki."

The older Espada started laughing hysterically, and everyone else gave him a curious look. He waved them off, "Sorry, I just got a crazy idea." He poured himself another glass.

* * *

"You feed my dog?" Yammy sucked some drink through a straw as best he could; each of his limbs were in a separate caste, and they all prevented any movement.

Ulquiorra didn't move in the chair, "I did." Without changing expression, he crossed his arms and legs, "I also put your money in the usual place."

Yammy let his head back and smiled, "What would I do without ya, buddy?"

"Probably just end up dead in a ditch somewhere," Ulquiorra stated coldly.

"You need to not worry as much, man," The wounded Espada laughed. "Ain't no _Family_ coming for me in here and just in case Szayel fixed up a transfer so I can't slow y'all down. It's all good."

Ulquiorra closed his eyes as if to take a nap, "Idiot."

Down the hall an elevator opened and three figures walked out. The one on the right pushed his glasses up while reading some book in German; the one on the left was huge and wore a bright pink, flowery shirt. The one in the middle, who had unusually long hair, pulled his orange sucker out of his mouth, "Which room?"

"1010," The smaller of his companions answered without looking up from his book.

"King said to make it quick," Shirosaki grinned, holding the sucker between his teeth.


	2. Chapter 2

Karin took a moment to prepare herself before stepping into the police department. There was no doubt in her mind that everyone would know her as the "special rookie" especially since she talked Kaien into letting her in on bringing down the Family.

Puffing out her chest, the rookie walked through the Police Station proudly. She didn't even bother saying hello to anyone; she went straight to Kaien's office only to find Hitsugaya and Matsumoto waiting there with him.

"Karin!" Rangiku announced with joy, handing her a folder. Karin opened it to find mugshots of several people she hadn't recognized, "Here's your copy of everything we've got about the Espada."

"Hitsugaya was about to give use the quick version," Kaien flipped through his folder while the Boy Genius worked at fixing the laptop's projector.

"Feel free to ask any questions," Toshiro smiled.

Rangiku's instantly raised her hand, "Question!"

"You already know everything on the Espada, Matsumoto," Hitsugaya looked annoyed.

Before she could respond, Hisagi burst through into the room, carrying a note to Kaien, "The Family just called and they're promising to hand over the Espada at this time and place."

"They'll just hand them over?" Kaien asked, baffled, "They must have something solid on the Family for them to do something that desperate..."

"There's no way they'd just hand them over if that was the case... unless they mean in body bags..." Hitsugaya tapped on the table in thought.

"So what'd we do?" Karin blurted out to break the silence. Kaien turned to her with a smile telling her that he knew something the rest didn't, he knew what to do...

* * *

"Here we are," Ishida fixed his glasses as Chad took his place in the hall. Upon seeing Shiro pull out a 9mm, he added, "Just because I own the hosipital doesn't mean you can shoot it up or even scare off my patients. Please tell me you at least have a silencer?"

"Relax, jeez... Yer just like yer dad," The albino gave a toothy grin and opened the door into the room before the other could retort. Immediately, the gun aimed right in between Ulquiorra's widening green eyes. Shiro's grin grew as he spoke, "_gotcha_!"

The trigger was pulled three times, but nothing was fired. Both Yammy and Ulquiorra froze despite realizing the gun was empty.

"I just shot ya dead, ya know?" Chewing up the last of his sucker, Shiro leaned in closer to those green eyes, "Dun ya forget tha', hmm?"

"Just get on with it, Shiro..." Uryu mumbled, nose back in his book.

"So which Espada are ya? Yer the leader ain't ya? Ya got tha' look to ya," Shiro tucked his gun away, "_Numero Uno, si?_"

Ulquiorra showed no signs of emotion, no fear or anything as he spoke, "Sorry to disappoint but neither of us are _Number One_..." He shifted, showing his tattooed "4" on his chest.

Uryu wrote something down.

Sighing, Shiro continued, "Well that's a lil disappointin'." Out of nowhere, he grabbed a handful of the Espada's raven hair, pulling him forcibly closer, "_So let's talk, Mr Nobody!_"

As soon as the punch connected with Ulquiorra's cheek, Yammy tried his best to retaliate for his friend but his injuries held him down. He could only watch as his friend was pummeled left and right by the mad albino.

"Wouldn't this _interrogation_ go by smoother if you actually asked a question?" Ishida took a seat next to the struggling Yammy.

"Oh, shaddup," Shiro blocked a punch thrown by Ulquiorra—but in truth, he had taken too much of a beating to do any real damage anyway. Smiling, Shiro turned back to his victim, "So where _do_ the Espada chill after killing some baddies? _Where!_"

Ulquiorra spoke in the same tone, "You might as well hit me some more."

Immediately, Shiro reached for his gun, this time whipping it out and smacking the 4th Espada across the face, knocking him to the floor. Yammy made a few yells to stop as Shiro started loading his gun with bullets.

"Last chance, _brotha~_" His gun aimed down at the beaten Espada.

"Shiro, no!" Uryu closed his book with a snap.

"Shaddup, Four Eyes!" Shiro spat back.

"Shiro! NO!" The Quincy repeated.

"Shaddup! Shaddup! _Shaddup!_" Shiro's face twisted up with rage, "He's not gonna say anything anyway! He ain't worth it..."

"Shiro!" Ishida was on the verge of pouncing as the albino focused back on the Espada.

"I'll tell you!" Yammy yelled out of the blue, making Shiro grin wickedly. "The old abandoned Las Noches Hotel."

There was a sigh from Uryu as he pulled out his wallet and handed his crazy partner some money. Ulquiorra dared to crawl away during the moment, but he didn't rise from the ground.

Holding up the money, Shiro couldn't help but chuckle, "Told ya that'd work!"

Shaking his head as he stepped out of the room, the Quincy pulled out his phone, "I'll make the call."

* * *

"Hmm, we have some _visitors_," Szayel grinned widely, looking closer at his monitor, "two guys in the lobby, heading this way, and they're armed."

Everyone turned their attention to the interruption, mostly out of shock. Nnoitra asked what everyone else was thinking, "How the hell they find us so fast?"

A gun clicked, "Lemme show them the way out," Grimmjow tucked the pistol in his pants, throwing his shirt over it. No one rejected the idea as the blue-haired Espada made his way out the door. The rest of the group gathered around Szayel's monitor to watch.

"Place your bets," Starrk was the last one to join them, tossing something on the desk in front of everyone. There was a universal sigh at the sight of the clip for Grimmjow's gun, "The Family goons walk into Pantera's cage..."

Harribel shrugged, "I'll probably never understand his desire to fight."

"He just misses his little cage fights," Szayel played with his hair.

Grinning wickedly, Grimmjow pulled the empty handgun out, sitting it on the abandoned counter and made his way to the elevators. He dug around in his pocket for his iPod, putting in his earphones. When he hit play, on one but himself could hear the music as his blood started to pump.

"At least the place is abandoned," Yumichika chuckled as the two cocked their guns, waiting on the elevator to open. Ikkaku wore a face of cold hatred as he just stood there in silence. "The Family's not gonna like us _interfering_..."

"Don't care," The bald one spat out, "They can do whatever they want after I've had my revenge."

With an agreeing smile, his friend corrected him, "_Our_ revenge. Just try to die beautifully."

The elevator dinged and both raised their guns up instantly, ready for anyone who might be waiting on them. As the doors slid open, they were surprised to find no one waiting and proceeded with caution. They made their way down the hallway, spotting a gun on the counter on the other side.

Grimmjow stepped out of the next elevator, strutting behind the other two, popping his neck, and turning up his iPod steadily.

"Yo!" The Espada called out just before kicking Yumichika into Ikkaku. Before they could fully retaliate, he lunged in to disarm them. Stepping on one's hand, he was able to slide one gun away, but had to physically pull the other one out of Ikkaku's hand with the assistance of a knee to the stomach. Quickly tossing the last gun away, Grimmjow reached into his pocket before taking a punch from either guy.

"Damn you!" Ikkaku jumped at the staggering Espada desperately. As he pounded away, he took note of the other's earphones and realized that he couldn't hear his cursing. Yumichika started after the nearest gun while the enemy was distracted.

Then came the sudden crack of Grimmjow's knuckle duster hitting Ikkaku's cheek with enough force to throw him to the ground. With his free hand, the Espada managed to grab Yumichika and pull him in for a barrage with his lethal hand. Grimmjow was stopped by something smacking him across the face. He turned to find the bald one holding a mop that had been sitting off to the side. Snapping the head off, Ikkaku unleashed a flurry of blows on the blue-haired fighter while letting out a blood cry. Grimmjow was barely able to block but managed to do so with his forearms—trying his best to ignore the pain—until a stab came. Dodging the jab, the knuckle duster ran up the staff and hit its wielder straight between the eyes.

Grimmjow straightened, looking at the defeated intruders, "Jeez, y'all didn't even last a whole song..."

Just as he turned off his iPod in disappointment, a cell phone began to ring. The Espada searched for the phone and found it in Yumichika's pocket, but then he couldn't help but cock his head in curiosity.

"The hell?" He stared down at the phone, the caller ID read: "PICK ME UP, ESPADA".

"Hello..." Grimmjow spoke hesitantly.

"Hello, and which Espada am I talking to?" A voice that he didn't recognize asked.

"Who wants to know?"

"Ooh, lemme guess.. Grimmjow?" The voice laughed.

"Who the fuck is this! Did you send these goons!"

More laughter. "No, no, no... They were just upset at what you did to their dear master... But I'm here to tell you that the Family—represented by me—wants to cut a deal with you Espada."

* * *

"Zommari," Gin whined, staring out the windown, "Are we there _yet_?"

"Gin," Zommari clenched the steering wheel, "if you ask _one more time_, I swear I'll—"

"You'll what? Show me _love_~" Gin snickered.

"Enough," Aizen tried his best not to yell, "We're to have a nice _quiet_ ride home, alright?"

Neither said anything else and Tousen just smirked. Aizen sipped on his tea some more while Gin breathed on the window and drew smiley faces with his finger. Everyone generally ignored him while he was in his own little world.

Then there was the soft sound of a prick; Aizen held up his tea cup to find it blasted apart by the same bullet that went right between Zommari's eyes. The entire sedan went out of control at the loss of its driver, flipping over onto its back before crashing into a rather thick street pole. The air bag deployed in a futile attempt to save Zommari's life. The impact had knocked Tousen out, but Aizen and Gin climbed out with no more than a few cuts and bruises. Gin climbed back in to pull out Tousen.

Upon seeing the lifeless Espada in the driver's seat, Gin stopped, "Rest in peace, friend."

He finally pulled Tousen completely out as a few gatherers came to see, making Aizen more and more nervous. He held it together though, like he always does.

"We need to get out of here, Gin," Aizen tried to hide his paranoia.

"Sure! I'll just tell Zommari to back the car up," Gin laid his unconscious partner against the car, and instantly came up with a right straight, hitting Aizen square in the face. Before he even knew what happened, Gin continued with a volley of blows until everything went dim for the leader of the Espada.

Everyone watching didn't know what to say. One person started to stop Gin, but when he got a look at his blue eyes, be backed off quickly. Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Ichimaru-sama," A blonde haired guy stepped out of a car that just pulled up.

"Ah, Izuru~" Gin's smile returned, "Just in time. Grab the other, please. Can't leave King waiting, can we?"


	3. Chapter 3

"Don't look so scared," Renji laughed as he lit a cigarette.

"I'm NOT scared," Rukia immediately retorted, "But why are we breaking into the Espada's place?"

"Well, while they're away doing business with King, we've got our own little mission to take care of," Renji went to work picking the lock on the door, "Shiro stressed that we can't screw this up... something about sending a message..."

The door opened with a click and the two were inside, looking around. Carefully, Rukia stepped around everything while using her flashlight to observe, her mind racing as she tried to slow her breathing. She had never done anything like this before, but she was desperate to get her brother's approval—even if that meant sinking to his level.

Suddenly, the lights came on, and Rukia froze.

"Ah, that's better," Renji walked past his partner with a fairly big suitcase.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rukia tried to yell while whispering.

"What? It was dark," The red-head defended himself.

Peering out the window, Rukia continued, "But we don't want to get caught..."

Renji just ignored her and headed straight to a computer with several monitors. The computer was on but locked; he connected a flash drive and almost immediately the computer was hacked.

"I'm in," Renji laughed before noticing the dark rooms adjacent to the lounge that they were in.

"So what're we doing? Just copying their files?" Rukia propped on the desk, watching as her partner went to work, surprised that he could work the computer at all.

"Pretty much," Renji yawned, leaning back in the chair, "Hey, go check their rooms for anything interesting that we can pawn or the that King might want or whatever."

There was a sigh from Rukia as she left the room with much more confidence this time. She went from room to room, taking little things here and there. After spending several minutes pillaging, she heard Renji call out that he was done.

"One more room," Rukia yelled out to her partner as she hit the light switch. Then she hit it again. And again. And again, still no light.

"Hmm," Rukia pulled out her flashlight, knowing that the best kept secrets are in the darkest places. Shining her light around the room, she cringed at the sight of all the masks on the wall, "Creepy..."

On a nearby table there was one photograph laying there by itself. Upon closer inspection, she found that it was a picture of Kaien, the officer leading the takedown of the Family and Rukia's old partner from before she left to help the very people she use to bust. Remembering all the good times whit him, she lingered over the photo for several moments.

"Done yet?" Renji called out from the other side of the place.

Turning to yell back, Rukia barely managed to get out "yeah" before the door suddenly closed; everything went dark. Something lunged from the back of the room at the petite gangster. A hand wrapped around her mouth, preventing any cries for help while another hand that was gloved felt for her gun. She immediately started kicking and writhing to get free, but the gloved hand retracted only to come back with a switchblade.

"The Family sent you, huh?" A voice hissed as the knife pressed against Rukia's throat to make itself known, "How much would you be missed? Hmm?"

Her thoughts were a mess as she prayed for her partner to come through the door, but then a door could be heard opening on the other side of the building. Renji called out, "I'll wait for you outside."

Rukia's eyes widened in fear as she heard the door shut.

"So much for friends, huh?" The voice chuckled. Slowly, the knife gently traced her neck as the shadow continued, "_God! I could have so much fun with a body like yours~_"

Rukia couldn't help but flinch as she felt a tongue slide up her neck.

The knife tightened as whoever continued, "Lemme show you what it means to **fuck** with the Espada!"

"Rukia!" Renji kicked the door open, blinding the Espada. With a well placed head-butt, Rukia freed herself, twisting around immediately with gun drawn. Before he could retaliate, the two gangsters blew him away. They didn't stop firing until both their guns were empty. The body fell back into the shadows, and a trail of blood creeped out from where the Espada fell.

"Bastard..." Renji flicked his cigarette at the body.

"Let's just get out of here," Rukia turned to leave, shaking a little. Putting an arm over her Renji tried to still her or at least to let her know he was there.

The two stopped in the lounge once again. Watching her partner start to open the suitcase from before, Rukia bit her thumb, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," He smiled before the suitcase beeped. The bomb's timer started, but the took took their time leaving.

* * *

"Aaroniero's not answering," Harribel closed her cell phone.

"Assholes are playing us!" Nnoitra clenched his fist.

"We don't know that for sure," Starrk's eyes didn't leave his phone, "All we know is that they _will_ come for us and... everyone else... if we run."

"I'm not too keen on the idea of just walking in there, you know," Barragan rubbed his forehead.

Szayel laughed as he parked the van across the street from an abandoned warehouse, "Now's the time to choose, ladies and gentlemen."

"I want to see King," Grimmjow stated. No one said anything as they tried to choose their words wisely for a response. After a long pause, Grimmjow opened the van door and jumped out, "Later."

"What's your plan?" Szayel smirked.

"I just want to see him," The blue-haired Espada began walking towards the warehouse.

"The son of a bitch wants to _be_ King," Barragan half laughed.

Starrk jumped out of the van but stopped at the sight of everyone staring at him, "I have a better chance this way..."

"You mean Lilinette has a better chance," Harribel corrected with a warm smile. Starrk only turned and followed Grimmjow. Watching the two Espada walk towards the warehouse, Harribel made up her mind as she jumped out, "For the girls, I suppose."

"You're all just gonna get killed," Nnoitra warned.

"Well, I guess I'm off," Barragan laughed loudly as he stepped out to follow the rest.

There was a sigh as Szayel pushed his glasses up, "Insanity is a bitch." Leaving the keys in the ignition, the scientist followed his companions.

Nnoitra watched the last of his partners walk away, and it wasn't long before he threw his hands in the air, "Goddammit all. We just better get revenge at some point..."

"Oh, we will," Szayel immediately responded.

Upon getting closer to the building, the Espada noticed the ground had been drawn on with chalk. It was a path of yellow bricks with a message on the side that read "FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD!" The path led straight to the opened door of the building; carefully, the group entered. They were told that there wouldn't be any trouble, but one didn't believe much that was said in their line of work. Inside, everything was too dark to see, and outside, the moon and streetlights did little to help the group see.

A single light came on, illuminating one little cone in the huge warehouse. Under it were two people tied to chairs with their mouths taped. As they closed in, the Espada could make out who they were: Aizen and Tousen.

"It's about time," A familiar voice spoke. Gin stood up from where he was sitting behind the other two.

"Gin? Did they get you too?" Barragan looked around in paranoia.

"You could say that," Gin laughed, "Though it was years before I met any of you."

"You bastard!" Grimmjow spat out.

"Hey, hey," The silver haired gangster held up his hands as if innocent, "Let's not resort to name callin', eh? Besides, knowin' that should be a relief..."

"The hell do you mean by that?" Grimmjow demanded.

"Means they didn't kill him, so they probably won't kill us," Starrk stated, crossing his arms to hide his sigh.

"BINGO!" Another voice cried out from the shadows. The door to the outside slammed shut and the place was enveloped in darkness just before the whole building lit up. After they're eyes adjusted to the light, the Espada took note of all the goons surrounding them with guns ready to fire at a moment's notice. Several feet behind Gin stood three other guys, and behind them was a black limo of all things.

"Don't fret," Gin spoke before stepping to the side.

The middle guy, an albino with long hair, stepped forward, stopping just behind the two tied up. He grinned wickedly as he propped on Aizen's head, "What a lively bunch of _fresh meat_. Well... not the complete collection I see... There's not a prize for collectin' all ten is there?"

"I want to see King," Grimmjow glared.

Shiro laughed, "How'd ya know I ain't him?"

"You're no King," Grimmjow's eyes didn't move. Shiro gritted his teeth at the response. The Espada continued, "You're his brother, right? Shiro?"

The grin returned, "Someone's done their homework. Tell me, did ya do yer homework on Kenpachi?"

"We didn't know at the time. We were just hired to—" Nnoitra hissed before being cut off.

"None of tha' matters!" Shiro yelled out as he shot up, both hands pulling on Aizen's hair. "The point is tha' ya took out a very valuable resource! One tha' needs to be replaced..."

Walking off, away from Aizen and Tousen, Shiro untucked the 9mm from the front of his pants. After a short pause, he snickered and tossed the gun to Gin.

"We do have a lil problem though," Shiro licked his lips, "Uryu, if ya would."

"Matthew 6:24: 'No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon,'" Uryu spoke calmly.

"Ya get tha' picture?" Shiro gripped Aizen's shoulder tightly as Gin took his place to execute the former leader of the Espada.

The Espada looked at Shiro then at the terrified Aizen then between each other and just shrugged.

This caught Shiro off guard, "That's cold... even for me, but I guess the people have spoken! Do it, Gin." The assassin raised the gun to fire.

But then the limousine's door opened.

Everyone turned to look on instinct. A figure stepped slowly out of the car, and Gin lowered his gun. It was like everyone was watching every step, every sway of the black with red fur coat, every breath made. Upon reaching the others, he ran his fingers through his orange hair and gestured for the gun.

"Ichigo," Grimmjow smirked.

"Grimmjow," King replied.

"Sir, you don't have to—"Gin was interrupted by another gesture.

"Nah, I think the Espada would like to see their new employer at least," Taking the gun from Gin and sticking the barrel against the back of Aizen's head, he continued, "Any last words of wisdom, curses, wishes, regrets, etc, etc?"

Aizen mumbled furiously in vain behind the duct tape.

"Poetic," King stated coldly before pulling the trigger.

Everyone but Grimmjow looked away. Ichigo glared at the Espada to see if he got the message.

"Welcome to the Family," King spoke as he turned to walk away.

* * *

"I don't understand," Rangiku whined while re-reading the note, "This is the right time and place, and all we got is this guy?"

Tousen sat quietly, bandage over his eyes.

"It is strange," Hitsugaya spoke while sipping on his coffee and eyeing Aizen's body as it was inspected.

"It seems that the Family found some new recruits," Kaien crossed his arms and let out an exhausted breath, "It'll be near impossible to take them down now with this kind of support."

Finishing his coffee, Hitsugaya turned to leave, "I _will_ take them down."


	4. Chapter 4

"So what'd ya want to do about him?" Shiro asked, leaning back in the chair, feet propped up on the fancy desk. He sucked on an orange flavored sucker.

"Nothing. I've known him for a long time. He wouldn't hold out on me," King responded, fixing his suit in front of a mirror.

"What the hell ya mean _nothing_?" Jumping up, Shiro pointed his sucker at the other, "Yer _King_! Friend or not, you've gotta show 'em that yer the one in charge! The moment ya show 'em that you'll let something slide, they won't take ya seriously. Even if this guy does pull through, ya never know who's watchin' and gettin' ideas, yanno?"

Giving it a moment to null it over, Kurosaki responded, "Then send a couple of the new guys."

"The Espada? Are ya kiddin' me?" Shiro dropped back into his seat, throwing his legs back up. Ichigo instantly kicked his brothers feet off his desk. "I think it's a bad idea. I don't trust 'em."

"It's not them, I'd be worried about," Kurosaki examined himself in the mirror.

"What'd ya mean?" Shiro worked furiously at his sucker.

Leaning down to his brother, King half-whispered, "The Espada are just hired goons, ready to obey whoever has the checkbook; however, the one who hired them to kill Kenpachi is in our Family. We have a traitor."

Shiro went wide eyed, "Seriously? Do we know who?"

King shook his head, "I'm following a lead tonight."

The albino cocked his head to the side before asking, "I thought ya were takin' Shit-For-Brains out?"

"I can multitask," King retorted, thumping Shiro on the nose for the name calling.

"She's yer _cover_ ain't she?" Shiro laughed hysterically. "Dude, I don't even see how ya can stand her! Please tell me ya at least get some from her?"

King kicked Shiro's whole chair over, but even then, the albino kept laughing.

"Ichigo?" Inoue peeked into the study before walking in. She was wearing a fancy red and orange dress with her usual diamonds that King bought her. Crunching his sucker at the sight of her, Shiro rose up and fixed his chair while making a mental note to find his brother a better girlfriend.

"Ready to go?" King kissed her hand making her blush a little.

"I hope somewhere nice," Orihime swelled with excitement at the promise of going somewhere fancy.

"Take care of things," Ichigo told his brother as he and his date made their way out the door.

"Whatevs," Shiro grinned, taking his seat behind King's desk. After the other two left, he turned on the desktop and went straight to Google, "Hmmm, I wonder if there are any _mafia crime lord_ dating sites..."

* * *

Music blared in the background as Grimmjow pounded away at the punching bag. His swings paralleled the song in rhythm. Sweat beads dripped over his ripped muscles. The Espada's body was on autopilot as it smacked the bag around; he couldn't get Ichigo out of his head. In fact, the more he thought about King, the more the punching bag looked like him, and the fiercer his punches became. He just couldn't stop.

* * *

"Starrk!" Lilinette jumped into the Espada's arms, planting a kiss. Making a gun gesture with her hand, she giggled, "I see they didn't gun ya down."

"No one can gun me down," He smiled faintly as the two started walking around the park.

"How'd you guys escape?" She hugged his arm, expecting to hear an over-the-top, action-movie style escape.

"We didn't technically _escape_," Starrk scratched his chin, trying to think how to tell the story to make it sound less lame. "Er, they killed Aizen... but now we kinda... work for the Family..."

Lilinette arched an eyebrow at how he coughed out the last part, "So what you're saying is that you guys pussied your way out alive? Traded one dick for another?"

Facepalming, Starrk added, "We didn't have a choice..."

"Bitch," Lilinette separated from her boyfriend, crossing her arms and looking away, but still walking.

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that!" Starrk frowned in his embarassment as he searched for ways to defend himself, "I mean, sure they blew up that crappy hotel, but they gave us this mansion uptown! _Mansion_! _Uptown_! Plus we don't have to move around like you've always hated... With as many connections as we have now, other small timers and even cops won't think to touch us!"

Halting altogether, she turned to look him in the eye as she tried not to laugh at how she was teasing him. Lilinette yawned, "So?"

Dumbfounded, Starrk just stared at her. Then he wondered if she was just teasing him—her poker face had become pretty damn good recently. Deciding to test his theory, he composed himself with a cough.

"What if I do _that thing_ you like?"

"Which one?" Her lips curled out of curiosity. Remembering that they were in public, he leaned down to whisper in her ear. A smile spread across her face as Lilinette's eyes popped open and she grabbed Starrk's hand to hurry him along as she power walked, "Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.."

* * *

"But why blow up our old place?" Nnoitra hissed as he downed another shot. Harribel patted him on the back while sipping on her own drink.

"They want to make sure we rely on them," Barragan took a gulp of his beer while peering out the corner of his eye.

"So do they always send you to _stalk_ people?" Szayel sipped on his drink—same think Harribel had only with a pink umbrella—leaning over to the stoic Nemu.

Pulling him by the ear, Harribel glared, "Down boy. She's not here for your amusement."

"_Please_," Szayel casually slapped her hand away and flipped his hair all at once, "I would _never_... Especially to one so... _quaint_..."

Seeming to ignore the pink-haired Espada's flirting altogether, Nemu spoke plainly, "Actually I am here for Granz... We understand that you need a new work area."

Humming with delight, Szayel winked at Harribel before turning back to the other, "I'd love to see the place."

Nemu handed him an envelope, confusing him. Opening it, he found a key and an address. He looked from it to her then back, but before he could throw out any lines, she spoke in her monotone voice, "Maybe some other time."

Then she got up and walked away, leaving the Espada to sulk at his loss. Almost immediately, Nnoitra came up from behind to wrap him in a headlock and tease him. Harribel just enjoyed the show while Barragan drank away until his phone went off. The others didn't notice as he answered.

"Nnoitra," The older Espada spoke after finishing his phone call, "Go get Grimmjow; Shiro's got a job for you two."

"Just us two? Can't be that hard," Nnoitra reasoned before downing one more shot glass. Pointing to Szayel as he left, he couldn't help but snicker, "Latah playah!"

* * *

"Still not talking?" Shuuhei sat across from Tousen in the interrogation room.

"Still adjusting," He pointed to his blinded eyes.

Kaien walked in, tossing a folder in front of Hisagi. As he shuffled through it, Kaien took a seat closer to their prisoner.

"Officer Kaien?" Tousen held his head up. The other two looked at each other in disbelief. The black gangster gave a brief laugh, "I'm getting pretty good at this..."

"So you are," Kaien took a gulp of his coffee. "Ready to talk or shall we go ahead and lock you up?"

"Can you answer something for me?" Tousen fumbled a little trying to light a cigarette, "Are you really one of the Kurosaki triplets?"

Shuuhei pretended to read the file in front of him as Kaien sighed and responded, "I am."

"So why're you working _against_ your brothers?" Tousen asked, "Is there no _brotherly love_ between you and the other two?"

"Someone has to be the responsible one, you know?" Kaien ran his fingers through his hair. It wasn't the first time someone called him out on his relation to King.

"Who better to take down the Family?" Tousen grinned.

* * *

The two Espada pulled up in front of the broken down store. Even though it looked in dire need of repair, there was a light on. Figuring that it was who they were looking for, Grimmjow and Nnoitra double-checked their firearms.

Grimmjow whipped out his phone and soon after had Shiro on the other side, "Yo, we're here."

"Ahhh good, good, good!" Shiro hissed across the phone, "'Kay, delicate situation. This guy's a friend of King, long time friend, about as loyal as they come, but for some reason, he's... well, he's stopped being as loyal recently, he's been holdin' out on us. So yer job is ta get the money and try to find out why the sudden _change of heart_. Beat him up, do whatever... Just don't kill him unless it's absolutely necessary. Oh and his name is Kisuke Urahara."

"Does he run this store?" Grimmjow yawned while looking the shop over.

Shiro snickered, "Used to... Now he's just a pimp."


	5. Chapter 5

Tom Sawyer blared in the background from stereo speakers as Shinji cut up a line of cocaine.

"Where's the jazz?" Shinji spoke in between twitches from snorting his line. Turning to the nearby Yoruichi, he repeated the question, "Where's _my_ jazz music?"

A cane whipped down to break his eye contact with her before its wielder spoke, "C'mon, its not _that_ bad."

Pushing the cane away as best he could, Hirako grinned, But ya know I need my jazz yo."

"Talk to her then," Kisuke pointed with his cane to Yoruichi as she fixed her own trail of coke. She smiled wickedly before dropping down. "She insisted that this is what we're _suppose_ to listen to."

"You cater too much, man," Shinji leaned back, trying to enjoy his high.

Slamming her fist down, Yoruichi's head rose-the line of coke gone-as she spoke for herself, "I'm not one those whore bitches anymore! I'm a _princess_." Her enounciation of the word made the other two snicker which in turn made her laugh out loud.

"Which reminds me!" Shinji suddenly raised a finger before pulling something out of one of his pockets, "I've got new stuff-better stuff!"

Opening the lid of the tin case revealed several red and yellow pills. The other two stared, as if at gold; both saw their own individual treasures-Yoruichi saw a good time, Urahara saw opportunity. Both also knew that whatever Shinji was selling was the real deal.

"Haven't picked a name for 'em yet, but go ahead~ free sample~" He held out the case so the other two could get one. Kisuke took one, eyeing it curiously-he trusted Shinji, but he liked to look calculative. When Yoruichi grabbed several, the drug dealer freaked out, "Whoa! No, no Missy. One is enough. I only want you to _know_ how powerful this shit is."

The "princess" pouted but returned her extras. Grinning, Shinji picked up his own.

All three swallowed the pills simuntaneously; just as the drugs began to take over, Urahara asked, "How long do they last?"

"I don't know... Long enough," Shinji's eyes rolled back into his head. Collapsing backwards, Hirako smiled involuntarily as he spoke, "Everything's backwards man~"

Yoruichi slumped forward on the table while trying to loosen her shirt. As he watched her every move, Urahara began to stumble before dropping onto a nearby couch. He let his head hang just enough that his hat hid his eyes. Still struggling with her shirt, Yoruichi took note of Kisuke on the sofa and began to crawl as sensuously as she could to him.

"I thought you weren't _one of those bitches_ anymore?" Kisuke laid his cane on her shoulder.

Proceeding to lick her way up the cane, Yoruichi stopped just long enough to say, "Lead by example, yeah?"

"But I know all your moves," He teased from under his hat.

"Please, you know all _their _moves, Yoruichi slid up Kisuke's body, "I taught them everything they know, but not everything I know."

"That'll never make the anime," Shinji mumbled to himself as he swam through his euphoria.

Suddenly, Tessai walked into the room with his hands up, "Uh... Boss..." Urahara ignored him as Yoruichi proceeded to kiss him hungrily, and even more so when he repeated himself even louder.

"You should answer, _Boss_!" Grimmjow yelled. Tessai turned slightly so that Grimmjow could be seen with a gun against the bodyguard's neck. Gently pulling his "princess" away, the pimp gave a WTF look, still high on whatever he took. Nnoitra stepped in, making his presence and gun known.

"Who are these guys?" He rested his hand on his bucket hat to further hide his eyes.

"They say they're from the Family," Tessai spoke boldly, "I don't recognize them sir."

"'Course you don't! We're new," Grimmjow snarled, pressing the gun a little harder into the other guy's head.

"They're telling the truth," Urahara grinned, "They are new. The Enchiladas or something..."

"Espada!" Grimmjow scowled as Shinji gave a high pitched laugh, still lying on the ground.

"Whatever," Kisuke spoke as Yoruichi climbed up next to him, "The thing is... wait... is it just you two?"

Confidently, Grimmjow shrugged, "Doesn't matter. Where's the money?"

Nodding absently, the pimp ignored the question as he continued, "The thing is, we already knew you were coming-and with guns-to kill us."

Nnoitra and Grimmjow looked at each other in confusion. "We weren't sent to kill you, in fact they told us to not to, so it would be great if we could keep that promise," The blue haired Espada stated with a slight hiss at the end.

"We've been in the Family longer!" Urahara pointed the cane accusingly, "Hell! We even helped make it what it is today. That was _us_, not _you_. You can't threaten us. You best remember who you're dealing with, boy."

Both Espada felt anger boiling up at the last statement.

"Fuck it," Grimmjow mumbled before blowing Tessai's brains out.

Instantly, Yoruichi jumped off to the side as Kisuke reached for his nearby shotgun. Shinji disappeared into the back of the store as the two gunned down Urahara before he could even point the shotgun in their direction.

"Shit, we weren't suppose to kill him," Nnoitra kicked at the dead pimp to double check.

"You heard him, evidently we _were_ suppose to," Grimmjow snickered as he looked around the room, "Where'd the other guy go."

Nnoitra nodded to the back.

Terrified, Yoruichi crept out from the side; her brain was still screwed up from whatever the junkie gave her, but it wasn't quite as pleasant now.

"Here, Kitty, Kitty," Grimmjow knelt down as he motioned for Yoruichi to come closer. As she crawled toward him, the Espada took note that she was drugged up, "You wanna live?"

She nodded.

"Then wait for me to get back," He winked, grabbing the shotgun. Both of the hitmen took off to the back of the place.

Yoruichi didn't move.

In the back, the Espada realized that was no way out and began searching each closet before finally reaching the last room, a huge storage room. There was a single large fan spinning on its side in a futile attempt to cool off the hot chamber. The room almost seemed to have its own fog. Stepping further into the room, the two found everything getting hazier and hazier.

Hearing chuckling, the two spun around to seeh Shinji standing tall with what may have been a bat pointed at them; however, the angle made it look like the fan's blade was spinning around his hand.

In his other hand was his tin case-now empty.

Unable to contain himself at the fact that neither of the two Espada realized that they were breathing in the powder from his new drugs, Shinji laughed, "Welcome to the Inverted World."

Both Grimmjow and Nnoitra prepared to shoot despite their dizziness.

They could of sworn that they weren't previously dressed in white or carrying melee weapons-Grimmjow had a katana while Nnoitra had a large polearm. Shinji's bat morphed into a sword right before he flew right at them. Nnoitra swung his strange new weapon desperately. Hirako barely dodged the giant double crescent polearm. Grimmjow's hand began to glow red and in his confusion, he tried to look at it, but then a red energy blast shot through the ceiling. Officially freaked out, the two looked to each other for answers.

"You look so ridiculous!" The blue haired Espada fell over laughing as he pointed at the huge spoon-like collar on Nnoitra until he noticed his boots, "Cool boots."

"Dude, where the hell is your stomach?" The taller Espada pointed harshly with uncontrollable laughter.

Then Shinji lunged out of nowhere, upside down swinging like crazy, but the Espada dodged to either side.

"Grind, Pantera!" Grimmjow yelled.

"Pray, Santa Teresa!" Nnoitra yelled at the same time.

* * *

The orchestra began to reach its peak at the end of the finale as the audience waited breathlessly.

It had been about midway through this piece that Rukia figured she should thank Byakuya for bring her with him. He normally went to these performances alone, especially since Hisana's death. His current politcal campaign to get re-elected also caused nearly his every move to be followed, and he was trying to keep Rukia away from that part of his life. She felt the need to thank him several times per concert, but at the same time, she made sure to not sound to childish about it.

Turning to her brother, Rukia gave her very best smile as she spoke, "Thanks again for bringing me." The whole night had been exciting so far really-first, his favorite restaurant, now the concert, and he also mentioned something about a movie afterwards.

Byakuya only nodded.

Catching a glimpse out the corner of her eye, Rukia noticed both Ichigo and Orihime in one of the other balconies. She could tell, even from the distance that neither one was into the music; Rukia knew that it wasn't really either one's preference which made her question why they were there. Resisting the urge to wave, she hoped that one of them would notice her.

Then Ichigo winked at her.

She gave a subtle wave then turned back around as certain guest musicians in the orchestra were recognized, each one followed by a round of applause.

"King's here," Rukia stated as she joined in on the clapping.

"I know," Byakuya didn't clap.

"Are you meeting with him?" Rukia asked.

"No," Byakuya straightened his tie, "He's been following us all night."

"Why?" Rukia was more shocked than curious.

Byakuya didn't respond.

* * *

"Bad dog," Ulquiorra stared down at Yammy's pet on the other end of the leash. It stared back in confusion. It couldn't comprehend why the Espada wasn't as happy as it was at their reunion. "Don't give me that look."

Without wasting anymore time talking to the dog, Ulquiorra started walking, "This time don't run off when you smell strangers. The idea of a guard dog is to guard."

"Ya finally found him?" A voice laughed from behind a tree. Out of reflex, Ulquiorra had already pulled out his gun and had it aimed.

He recognized the voice.

"What do you want, Shiro?" The Espada didn't put his gun away. He was not going to quickly forgive Shiro.

The dog started barking as the albino stepped out into the light and began to snarl back at the canine, making it back up a little. Dusting off his clothes, Shiro unwrapped a sucker before speaking, "Short version: King has a job for you and your team."

* * *

The phone rang just loud enough to be heard over the moaning.

Panting heavily but not stopping, Grimmjow grunted angrily on the phone, "What'd you want? I'm busy."

He continued to pound away at the bent over Yoruichi as the voice on the other line talked. This chick had impressed Grimmjow, it had been a while since he fucked someone this good for this long. If it had been anyone else who called, he wouldn't have even bothered to answer.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me," He grinned, "Of course, I'm in."

Hanging up the phone, he harshly turned Yoruichi onto her back. The Espada wrapped his hands around her to cradle her as he picked up speed and power.

"This'll have to be the last one, babe. Got places to be," He smiled, pretty sure she was ready to escape anyway.

* * *

Szayel opened his door with disdain, speaking coldly, "One knock was sufficient."

"Sorry," Harribel smiled innocently, "You weren't answering your phone, but we have a job-all of us."

"None of you are smart enough to coordinate the rest?" Szayel sighed, pushing his glasses up.

"No need to get cocky. It just sounded like one you would enjoy," Harribel patted him.

Slapping her hand away, Szayel nodded to his new work place, "I'm kind of busy with something."

"Another _super secret science project_, huh?" Harribel put her hands on her hips as she tried to peer over Szayel and into the dim room, but he quickly shut the door. Shrugging, she added, "Well, you've got plenty of time for your porn. We're waiting on Ulquiorra. Just be here in an hour or so."

She handed him a slip of paper with an address on it.

"Why here?" Szayel asked with an apathetic tone.

"It's just where he said to meet. Barragan and Nnoitra are already there, and I'll probably head there from here," Harribel checked the time on her phone.

"Nnoitra? Him and Grimmjow already made it back?" Szayel hadn't realized how much time he had wasted.

Chuckling a little, she answered, "Yeah, they've been back. They were stoned as hell, but it was wearing off last I saw of them."

"Well, I shall work as fast as I can then," Szayel turned to walk back inside.

"Later," Harribel spun around and left.

Stepping back inside, the Espada locked the door behind him. There was only a single light on in one corner over an operating table. Strapped to this table was a bound and gagged female who was beginning to come around only to panic at the restraints.

"Ah, you're finally awake, Nemu," Szayel slithered over to her, brushing the hair out of his face. She tried to scream and yell for help but all was in vain. Leaning in close, the mad scientist whispered, "Now, now... I'm sorry, but we won't be able to _enjoy ourselves_ as long as I had originally planned... Don't fret, I'll try to make up for it..."

The captive girl's eyes widened in terror as Szayel examined different "toys".

* * *

Orihime wrapped herself in a towel as she stepped out of her relaxing shower. The night with King hadn't been as eventful as she thought it would. The two ate at a fancy restaurant-but not the one she wanted to-then they went to this orchestra performance-she didn't want to do that either. After all that, they went to a private movie showing where she ran into Byakuya and Rukia Kuchiki, which was probably the highlight of the night.

She "punished" Ichigo by not kissing him good-bye.

Throwing her towal away, Orihime began to pick and choose from her selection of nightwear. Outside, a light rain had started and began to pick up. She gave a pleased smile at the sound of the rain tapping on the window. It always soothed her to sleep.

There was a flash of lightning that revealed unblinking green eyes briefly, but Inoue didn't notice. The thunder made her jump though as she slipped into her white gown. Finally, she crawled into her oversized bed, exhausted.

After several minutes, Ulquiorra gently pushed the unlocked window open and climbed inside.


	6. Chapter 6

A loud knock on his door caught Szayel's attention.

He paused, listening for whoever to become disinterested and leave, but they only knocked louder.

"Room service," An annoyed voice announced.

Szayel couldn't remember calling for anything; he'd been too busy with Nemu.

Before he could respond the voice added, "Special _Family_ room service. It's urgent."

"Can't you just come back later," The Espada walked over and peeked through his door's hole. It was just a guy with a cart, but he couldn't see his face from the angle.

"_Urgent_," The man over-pronounced the word.

Grabbing his gun, Szayel had had enough. He was ready to return to his precious Nemu, but knew this guy had to go. He creaked the door open, just enough to make him and his gun known.

"What do you need?" The pink haired Espada glared.

There was a sharp pain in Szayel's stomach.

"I have a message," The man's face was covered in smudged white and black paint, and he gave a toothy grin as he left the short, gold pocket knife in the other's torso. Szayel couldn't move which made him panic silently. Kicking the cart into the paralyzed Espada and then into the room, the blue haired man stepped into the room and closed the door.

Apathetic, he ran his singular long nail across his lip before speaking, "Where's Nemu, _meat_?"

Szayel was frozen on top of the cart, only able to look straight. He could not only see his own blood pooling but also an arm sticking out from under the trolley—he guessed it was the actual room service.

Following the sounds of mumbling into the next room, the guy found Nemu strapped to a wall. Helping her down with disdain, he complained, "Quit wasting my time, you ungrateful waste of breath."

She dropped down and gave a short bow, "Thank you, Mayuri-sama."

"Just put some clothes on and carry this _meat_ out for me," Mayuri waved impatiently, taking his knife back. "It's been a while since I switched someone's organs around. I want to do it right."

* * *

Ulquiorra's fingers wrapped around the bottle of peroxide in Inoue's cabinet. He then soaked his neatly folded paper towel. Lightning flashed as he put the bottle back where he found it.

Then the lights came on, and he spun around to find Orihime shakingly pointing a gun at him. His expression never changed. "Aren't you afraid?" The girl managed to say.

"That should be my line," Ulquiorra spoke calmly as he walked to her. This made her shake even more which in turn made him ask, "Are you going to shoot?"

She pulled the trigger.

"It's not my first time," The Espada pulled the missing bullets out of his pocket.

Dropping the gun, Orihime made no more attempts to "hide" her fear as she backed out into her bedroom. Ulquiorra stepped forward, making her move faster.

"Don't you know who I am? Who my boyfriend is?" She asked desperately on the verge of crying before tripping and falling backwards. The intruder loomed over her, merely staring. "You've come to kill me… haven't you? Why? To get back at King? He'll make you pay for this… He will…"

"I'm not here to kill you," Ulquiorra spoke in his usual monotone. Pulling out a black scarf, he threw it on her lap. She sat up, holding the clothe in a mix of fear and confusion. "Blindfold yourself."

"Make me," Orihime mumbled childishly as she bit her lip.

The Espada walked around to behind her as she held her breath. Kneeling down, he reached around her to take the blindfold and began to tie it himself. She didn't try to stop him, thinking the worst.

"Are you really so heartless?" Inoue was still convinced that he was going to kill her.

There was a pause before he tightened the blindfold with a cold, "I am."

* * *

"Karin! Where're you?" Kaien struggled carrying his coffee and the boxes of donuts. Use to the circumstance, the officer deftly maneuvered past everyone and into the boardroom.

"Kaien," Karin's voice was less than pleased.

He stepped into the room to find Karin, Toshiro, and three other people in suits that Kaien didn't recognize. The two talking to Hitsugaya didn't seem to notice his entrance, but the third, a short woman with her hair in two long braids, instantly approached him with an overly professional manner.

"You're late," She moved her jacket to reveal her FBI badge.

"Donut?" Kaien offered, but the agent only glared. Giving a weak smile, he sat down the boxes and sipped on his coffee. "So what can I do for the FBI?"

"It's what we're going to do for you, Officer Kaien," One of the other agents spoke, turning to face Kaien. His wavy hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and he wore a pink scarf. The other had a white hair and a nasty cough. Both he and his partner casually held up their badges as he continued, "Agents Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake, and I believe you already met Soi Fon. We're going to help with your whole _Family_ business."

"The FBI's never wanted to help before… Avoiding it even," Kaien half laughed.

"Things have changed," Kyoraku shrugged.

Kaien smiled nonchalantly, "Well then, let's get started."

* * *

Grimmjow kicked open the warehouse door, hands in his pockets. Giving a quick shiver, he was glad to be out of the rain. He was irked that Ulquiorra picked a place so far out of the way. He walked over to where Barragan, Harribel, Nnoitra, and Starrk were waiting.

"Don't tell me I'm early," Grimmjow cursed to himself. He could have stayed a bit longer.

"Ulquiorra's never this late," Barragan glanced at his watch.

"What's he doing anyway?" Starrk yawned.

"He wouldn't say," Harribel sighed.

"Here," Ulquiorra announced as he lead the blindfolded and handcuffed girl into the warehouse. Both were soaked, but he seemed unbothered.

"Speak of the devil," Grimmjow stretched, partially relieved at his timing.

"Still managed to beat Szayel," Harribel said, walking over to help, "_So who's this_?"

"The job or play thing?" Nnoitra snickered as he looked up and down Inoue. Guessing as much, Harribel slapped the back of his head. Grimmjow shared his thoughts but was quiet, choosing to just smirk.

Silently, Ulquiorra lead the visibly frightened Orihime into a nearby room/storage closet, pulling out a chair for her. Keeping her bound and blinded, he stepped back out to the others.

"So what's going on?" Barragan asked, trying to mask his impatience.

"I don't know," Ulquiorra stated as he cupped his face.

"What'd you mean _you don't know_?" Harribel asked with her hands on her hips, "Please tell me there's a reason you kidnapped this chick?"

"She's King's girlfriend," Ulquiorra spoke calmly.

Everyone froze.

"The fuck did you kidnap _her_ for?" Nnoitra flailed, spitting out what everyone was thinking.

"'Cause I was told to kill her," Ulquiorra stared unblinkingly.

"_By who_?" Starrk laughed in disbelief.

"Shiro. That's why I didn't kill her," Ulquiorra gestured to the room she was in, "It didn't make sense."

"_An' why didn't it make sense_?" Shiro's voice hissed loudly from the open door of the warehouse. Lightning flashed. No one said anything as the angry albino marched over to the group. Glaring at the stoic Espada, Shiro snapped, "_What'd ya fall for her_? Jeez, yer useless."

Ulquiorra's eyes never left Shiro as he pushed open the door to Orihime. No one else moved.

"There's a reason, ya dumbass," Shiro slammed the door shut.


	7. Chapter 7

Orihime let out a quiet whimper when her blindfold was cut off.

"Good evening," Shiro hissed while twirling his switchblade casually before putting it away. His eyes were coldly fixed on her, tracing the outline of her body. "Don't fret, _doll_. I'm here to rescue you."

There was a bit of bite to his tone when he said "doll" but still, the fact that he was saving her made Orihime relax a bit. The albino used a steel pole to block off the door and starting shifting though all the different tools and random junk in the room. He opened the only window, peering out of it thoughtfully before closing it and returning to scavenging through stuff. He pulled out several things like a gas powered nail gun, a bucket, pliers, some different cleaning products… Laying everything across a table, Shiro stopped for a minute, looking from the stuff to the door.

"What're you doing?" Orihime peered curiously from her seat.

Shiro looked annoyed, like he couldn't find something specific as he began to tear through the storage room angrily. Inoue repeated her question much louder which made Shiro snap around, "_Shush_! Try not to be so fuckin' loud. I'm gonna make a _bomb_ to set off in their faces."

It was more of Shiro's tone than his words that made Orihime nod obediently. She started to get up but then figured it'd be better to sit and wait until the bomb was ready. She didn't want to get in the way.

Suddenly, Shiro started laughing hysterically.

"Oh god, _please_, ya gotta wear this," The albino snickered, turning to show the ball gag he just found. Without a second thought, the girl shook her head with a "hell no" expression. Still chuckling here and there, Shiro waved innocently, "No, no. Not for me. Just put it on, and I'll take a picture for King. He digs this stuff."

"_Does he?_" Orihime blushed, eyes wide open. She let the thought slide about in her head for a moment before sighing and saying, "Sure. Just don't show it to any of your creepy friends."

"I don't have any friends. Just King," Shiro stated as he made his way to her, putting the gag on her carefully, "Alrighty, now do the whole helpless schoolgirl look~"

Grinning, Shiro took his place and maneuvered to a good angle with his camera phone. Inoue leaned in her seat a bit to show a little more leg from under her gown and gave the most helpless, puppy eyes she could muster, to the point of actually tearing up a bit. After the first picture, Orihime changed positions, bringing her knees together and her feet apart while leaning forward to show off her breasts. After that shot, Shiro handed her the nail gun—it was difficult to hold with her hands handcuffed—for her to hold out desperately, as if trying to escape. Each picture was sexier than the last.

"I'll send 'em to yer phone," Shiro spoke as he played with his phone while walking back to her.

Orihime had actually started to get into it and made a mental note to use this on Ichigo later on. Relaxing in her seat, she looked around mildly bored. It had been the oddest evening for here. She had expected the one Espada to kill her and for a second there, thought Shiro would too. The fact that he was rescuing her had helped her nerves a lot then the random photo shoot got her all excited in a good way.

But truthfully, she was ready to just go home.

"And sent. I have to admit, yer holdin' up much better than I thought you would," Shiro winked, picking up the nail gun and turning back to the rest of his stuff, "However, I _really_ need to set this bomb up, don't I? Stay put."

A wave suddenly flushed over the girl, dull at first but quickly sharpening. Her body jerked as she let out a muffled scream. Blood leaked from where the nail pierced her foot, pinning it to the ground.

When she tried to jump away, her foot caught her, and then Shiro used the gun to smack her back into the chair. Despite her resistance, he was still firing nails at her free foot as she thrashed about. Each "thunk" sound the nails created as they stabbed into the ground made her fight even more until finally he hit the mark.

With both feet nailed to the ground, Orihime writhed painfully and continued to yell through the ball gag. Shiro was actually surprised at how audible her cries were. Her desperate attempt to escape caused her to push the chair from under her, putting her in an even more painful position. Just before she fell all the way, Shiro caught her, pulled the chair back, and forcibly centered her.

"Now, now, I know yer a bit confused," Shiro mockingly soothed the girl. Her thrashing about had receded and now she was giving a weeping, pleading look. Tossing the nailgun to the side, the albino sighed, continuing, "Which to be honest, is really fuckin' stupid. Yer so fuckin' stupid. Did this _really_ and _truly_ catch you off guard? Really? I'm not sure how you didn't realize what was gonna happen. Maybe it was my fault. I did say I was gonna rescue ya didn't I? See, what I really meant by _rescue_ was _torture and kill_. Even then though, goddammit girl…"

She whimpered.

As Shiro shifted through the tools he pulled out, he continued, "But as long as we're being honest, I do have a confession to make. The only people I trust are the dead, and well… Yer currently the closest thing I got… So would ya like to know somethin'?"

Orihime stared, horrified.

This only made him shrug. Grabbing a pair of pruning shears, Shiro gave a very pleased grin and made his way back to the girl as she started freaking out again. He tried to hold her hands still, and she fought with him but wasn't able to keep him at bay for long. Her muffled shrieks continued.

"See the thing is, I'm torn." Snip. Her screams were at their loudest yet as her finger fell away.

"I care for King a lot. I really do." Snip.

"I'm actually doing _all _of this for him." Snip.

"He deserves so much more, so much better." Snip.

"But at the same time, _I_ wanna be King, ya know?" Snip.

"He doesn't know _how_ to do this kinda work… He's too… soft." Snip.

"So here's the plan: Get rid of you." Snip.

"Get rid of the Espada." Snip.

"Dethrone King." Snip.

"And… well…" Snip.

As Orihime wailed absently into the gag, Shiro returned to his stash but drooped a bit. He grabbed the bucket and sat it in the tortured girl's lap, hooking her limp arms around it to keep it in place. She didn't have any fight left in her; she could only pray at this point.

"This ain't as fun as I thought it'd be. I think, I'm just gonna—" Shiro's words were cut off by someone trying to open the door.

"Let me in," Ulquiorra's voice demanded as he banged on the door. Orihime found her fight again and started yelling.

Cursing to himself, Shiro flipped out his switchblade, ready to finish the girl when he noticed something in the corner of the room. He gave a quick smirk before taking off after it. He could hear the Espada trying hard to get through the door.

"I don't know what kinda fucked up shit happened in this room," The albino admired the machete he found with a wicked grin, "But I approve."

* * *

At first, it was only Ulquiorra trying to open the door, but soon after, they were all trying. Starrk tried shooting the locks only to find that it was something else keeping them out. Grimmjow kicked at the door and threw his body, all in vain. Harribel and Nnoitra found an axe after some trouble, giving it to Grimmjow to hack away at the door.

They could hear it now. They could hear Shiro's mad strokes, but no one could hear Orihime's voice anymore.

If the Family wanted this girl dead, then the smart thing would be to look the other way. Stopping Shiro would practically be asking to be tortured next. Any other time, anyone else, it would probably be different; however, after having been together for so long, the Espada had learned to read the seemingly emotionless Ulquiorra. They could tell this was killing him. They weren't doing it for her, they were doing it for him.

Hearing a window open inside, Grimmjow forced his hand through the long hole he made in the door and quickly moved the steel pole keeping the door closed, pushing it open. Shiro was already out the window, but Ulquiorra was right behind him—his eyes glanced over Orihime's body, but his mind was set on revenge.

"Shit," Nnoitra gripped his hair, panicking as the Espada watched several vehicles that they knew belonged to the Family driving up from the opposite direction Shiro and Ulquiorra ran off. Some goons could already be heard inside the building. Starrk and Barragan tried to slow those down.

"He set us up," Grimmjow growled and jumped out the window to pursue the other two.

Suddenly, he found himself tackled by someone huge. He jumped right back up only to get punched twice in succession. The Pantera shook it off and met eyes with King's bodyguard, Chad, just in time to block his next hit and deliver a nice return blow.

As the Family and the Espada fought each other, one from the Family sneaked past it all and chased after the other two.

* * *

The rain picked up as Shiro tried his best to out maneuver the pursuing Ulquiorra, but he just couldn't shake him. Each twist almost seemed to bring the pursuer closer even. The irritation was creeping up Shiro's spine as his mind went to work on a plan.

Ulquiorra couldn't feel his legs, but he wasn't stopping any time soon. The albino's turns were all too predictable, but then when he rounded one last corner, Shiro pounced on him knife first. The Espada luckily deflected the stab, but Shiro's lunge knocked both to the ground. The two wrestled back and forth in the flooded alley. Mud and water mixed and smeared with the girl's blood all over their clothes. Shiro's blade was knocked away, but so was Ulquiorra's gun, forcing the two to fist fight.

"Who the fuck was she to you? _Who_?" Shiro hissed as he held the other down briefly. Ulquiorra only glared back coldly before rolling over and mounting the albino. His hands wrapped tightly around the Kurosaki brother's throat, but despite this, Shiro smirked and added, "Look, I'll send ya before and after shots~"

To this remark, Ulquiorra started slamming the other's head against the ground, but then his grip slipped, letting Shiro escape to throw him off.

"You're trash," Ulquiorra stood up, keeping his hidden knife ready as he slowly approached the albino attempting to crawl away. Just before he lunged, Shiro twisted around with the gun the Espada dropped. Both froze, but the one with the gun slowly and clumsily rose to his feet.

"Yer too _human_," Shiro bit under his breath before catching a glimpse of a shadow off to the side. Flaring his nostrils, he pistol whipped Ulquiorra and took off. The other struggled to stand back up as he helplessly watched Shiro turn the corner. He couldn't let him get away, and started to give chase once again.

"_Espada_!" King roared through the rain. Lightning flashed.

Ulquiorra froze and turned slowly to see Ichigo standing with gun pointed. King's face was burning with rage. He was out for blood.

"Listen," Ulquiorra spoke, knowing he'd have to explain quickly. Only, he wasn't quick enough. He fell to his knees after the first shot hit blew away his stomach. He started to curl into himself when Kurosaki walked over, pulled the Espada's head back by his hair, and brought the barrel of the gun to his throat.

As the rain poured, King gritted his teeth as he spoke, "I don't want to hear it."

The thunder drowned out the gun shot.


	8. Chapter 8

"What'd you mean they got away?" King yelled, throwing his desk lamp across the room into his mirror. Shiro stood still as he let his brother throw his fit, better to let the study take the blunt of the rage. The albino himself was already covered in bandages and band-aids.

"They didn't all get away," Shiro spoke in a soothing voice, "There's the one ya got, and the older one Kensei got—I think he was their leader or something. Kurotsuchi also filleted the smart one… They'll be scattered by now."

Clenching his fist, Ichigo sat down to try to calm himself before looking his brother over, "What the hell happened to you anyway? Where were you?"

"Getting my ass beat by the Espada," Shiro stuck his tongue out, "I barely managed to catch up to you."

King rested his head on the desk with a heavy sigh, "And now it seems the FBI has finally decided to help Kaien. They must have something solid on us. We can't let them find the Espada. Send Gin."

"Ya sure ya wanna do that? We could just send some more goons," Shiro tried his best to hide his grin. Ichigo remained silent. Turning to leave, Shiro purred, "I'll let him know."

The moment he closed the doors behind him, he had to cover his face to hide the sadistic joy that twisted across his lips. He couldn't believe everything was going so well, other than the bruises, everything was happening as planned.

"Hello~" Gin mewled from just out of Shiro's peripheral.

The albino jumped, "Shit! Don't do that, ya creep!"

"Sorry~ I thought ya saw me," Gin chuckled, crossing his arms before leaning off his spot on the wall, "So y'all want me to go hunt my ol' buddies?"

"Eavesdropping are we?" Shiro playfully scolded.

"No, no, it's just that King's making so much noise, I couldn't sleep," Gin held his hands up innocently.

Grinning, Shiro let out a small snicker before asking, "Will yer _previous affiliations_ with yer buddies be a problem?"

"Is it ever?" He purred as he turned to leave.

Shiro knew there was no reason to doubt Gin. The assassin had no loyalties, just a list of people who owe him money. Giving the silver-haired killer a few minutes to actually leave, the albino wandered aimlessly down the hall. As he passed one room, he found himself stepping back for a double take.

"Shiro, come join me. We need to talk," Byakuya sat his book down.

"Jeez, is King having a slumber party or something?" Shiro mumbled, taking a seat on the couch across from the other. With a slight pout, he waited for the politician to explain.

"How many Espada are left?" Byakuya asked.

"Eh, a few," Shiro yawned, slouching in his seat, careful about his bruises.

"A number would be nice," Byakuya stared cooly.

"Five, not counting their friends and stuff," Shiro hissed nonchalantly.

"That's half, plus allies," Byakuya's eye contact never broke, "That's a bit more than a few. An uncomfortable bit more than a few."

Leaning forward threateningly, Shiro blurted out, "Hey! I don't see ya bustin' yer ass! I'm doing all the work, dick."

Without batting an eye, Kuchiki responded calmly, "I'm just making sure you remember the risk you're taking here, the consequences of failing to deliver, and of course, our little arrangement. I especially wouldn't want you to forget that."

The albino grit his teeth. The corrupt politician was right, but the condescending tone was a bit much. He wanted to just slit the guy's throat and be done with it. He wanted to torture, then kill, then bury him—anything to get rid of him.

But he needed him.

"Don't worry yer pretty lil face," Shiro grinned wickedly, "No one's gonna find out."

* * *

"It doesn't look like he's been by," One of the goons searching through Neliel's apartment sighed.

"Ya wanna wait to see if he comes?" The other seemed uninterested.

"Nah, if he hasn't come by now, he's long gone," The first stated, leading out the door and to the elevator. Both were more relieved than anything else as the doors closed and they descended.

After a moment or two, Nnoitra crept out from around the corner and made his way to the apartment door. The goons had closed and re-locked the door so no one would be the wiser.

Worried that Neliel might have been home, he played with the idea of breaking in. There was this moment where he wondered if it was even a good idea to have come at all—the Family didn't seem too keen on involving her. But then, they could always come back. The Espada's nostrils flared as his mind went back and forth.

"What're you doing here?" Neliel asked coldly, making Nnoitra spin. She looked mildly annoyed, holding a bag of groceries.

"I was just checking on ya," Nnoitra replied, off guard at first but managed to slur into his normal demeanor.

"Oh hell, now what kind of shit have you pulled?" Neliel pushed past the other, unlocking and opening her door to step into her apartment. Nnoitra followed, closing the door behind him. It looked like no one had been there. She continued while setting her groceries down, "Your constant getting into trouble and checking up on me are what some would call a trend."

"This is pretty serious," Nnoitra stated, only slightly defensive.

"Shoes," She said randomly.

"Say what?" he replied in confusion.

"Your boots are still on," Neliel sighed while putting her groceries up.

"Oh, yeah yeah, ya hippie," Nnoitra absently removed his boots. In response to his pet name, Nel picked a flower out of her vase and put in her hair, smiling at the Espada. He rolled his eye, trying not to grin. He noticed she was barefoot; he didn't remember her taking her shoes off, but then it wouldn't have surprised him if she went out without them to begin with.

Propping on her table, Neliel asked, "So what's up?"

"Oh, not much," Nnoitra hissed with a bit of sarcasm, "Just happen to have the whole fuckin' mafia after me."

"What'd you do?" Her voiced choked a bit, but her stare didn't move.

"Nothing," Nnoitra shrugged innocently.

"No seriously," Neliel twitched," You kill someone?"

"No, that's the thing," Nnoitra rubbed his face out of irritation, "They wanted us to, but we didn't. Then they came, killed her, and now want to kill us for some reason. I think that fuckin' albino set us up."

The Espada noticed that Neliel was shaking a bit. Tears could be seen gathering in her eyes before she turned sharply into the kitchen silently. She seemed to be looking for something.

"You okay?" Nnoitra asked, worried that she didn't believe him.

"Did you torture her?" Neliel's face couldn't be seen but it was obvious in her voice that she was sobbing.

"Torture?" He repeated, shocked by the accusation.

"Yes! Did you really torture her?" She asked again with more bite, turning around with a 9mm handgun aimed at the Espada.

"Whoa!" His hands shot up instantly, "Listen, Nel. I didn't do anything. Why would ya even think that?"

Neliel sniffled. The two stared at each other. Her crying hadn't stopped but began to settle down. Then something clicked in Nnoitra's head and the scenario made sense.

"Who did ya talk to?" He asked half desperate, half pissed, "_Who?_ That albino bastard? Ya talk to him?"

There was another brief shake over her body, and Neliel's crying picked back up.

"What the hell _did_ he tell ya?" Nnoitra mumbled, trying to figure out what the guy could've said to shake her up this bad. The more he thought about it, the more he started trembling himself.

"Nel, talk to me!" He yelled.

"Shiro! Shiro told me you tortured and killed King's girlfriend," Neliel spat out with a violent shake, "He said all these horrible things! He told me about how I was next… He threatened to hurt me if I didn't keep you here! He said I had to keep you here long enough for his guys to come get you, and he set up this whole elaborate plan! Okay?"

There was a pause before Nnoitra whimpered, "Ya don't believe him, do ya?"

This sent a quick, vicious shake through Neliel and with one last sniff, she stopped crying. Barely over a whisper, she answered, "No…"

After another pause, she lowered the gun and repeated herself a little louder to reassure herself, "No, of course not."

Nnoitra felt relieved, moving in closer as if to embrace her. Before he could get too close though, she outstretched a hand against his chest to halt his movement. Neliel sat the gun down and wiped away what tears remained.

"You should go," She smiled weakly, "Those guys are coming back with others."

"Quit being such a dumb bitch," Nnoitra spoke softly, gently pushing her hand to the side so he could move in closer. As he stepped closer, his hand slid up her arm. Upon reaching her, he added, "I came back for a reason."

"They're going to _kill_ you~" Neliel hummed playfully as the Espada's other hand traced up her neck, luring her chin upward.

"The hell they will," Nnoitra grinned.

"You better quit it and run, asshole," Neliel smiled, breathing onto Nnoitra's lips.

"I'm not gonna say it, Nel," Nnoitra smirked, arms wrapping around her waist.

"Sure you are," She said confidently.

Suddenly, the door kicked in and three guys rushed at the two. Without a second thought, the Espada pushed the girl backwards and out of harm's way. All three guys went straight for him, two had knives, and one had a pistol.

One of the blades shot out after Nnoitra. With a quick deflect, he threw one off balance. The other slashed instantly, hoping to catch him off guard only to be dodged just as easily. The first was up again with a vicious slash that was stopped just in time to avoid the stab by the second. The two glanced at each other, discouraged and afraid… as well as open.

"Che, amateurs," Nnoitra's dagger was barely more than a shimmer as he pulled it out and sliced both across their stomachs simultaneously. The pair backed up, gripping their clean wounds. At that moment, the Espada's confidence vanished as he realized that the third guy had a clear shot.

_Bang!_ Then two more bangs.

"Quit dicking around," Neliel smacked the back of Nnoitra's head, her gun still smoking. Before the Espada could respond, she moved out to the hall to double check for more guys.

"Hey, be—" Nnoitra started before Nel interrupted.

"Shut it! I swear to God if you tell me to be careful, I'm going to shoot your ass," She said deadpanned. As if on cue, a really big guy snatched the gun from her and unloaded it in one move then tossed it behind him. Before he could touch her though, Nnoitra had tackled him. After a brief tussle, the two separated just long enough for the Espada to ready his dagger and recognize the attacker as King's bodyguard Chad. He looked bigger than he remembered… Nnoitra may have the height and reach advantage but this guy was _stout_.

Chad gave a grunt before Nnoitra lunged. The giant managed to wrap his hand around the one holding the dagger and proceeded to squeeze with all his strength. Then came an uppercut to his stomach.

Hunched over, Nnoitra gasped for air, trying to seem unaffected. Smiling, he exhaled, "Was that your best shot?"

With one last punch, the Espada was out cold. Right when everything went black, he thought he heard Nel cry out.

* * *

The subway train screeched to a halt and the passengers exited as the next set boarded. There was only a few though due to the time of night and the one Grimmjow picked. If the Family sent anyone after him, he wanted to see them coming. Taking one last look around, he jumped on. He saw no one but his instinct warned him that he was not alone.

"Ya know, I think I know why ya seem like King's rival," Gin chuckled, relaxed in his seat. Grimmjow turned, tense and ready to bolt and/or fight; however, the silver haired assassin made no moves toward him.

"Oh yeah? What's that?" Grimmjow showed his paranoia with his weak smile.

"Yer both soooooooo much alike~" Gin chuckled, "Ya two could be brothers or something."

This comment made the Pantera grit his teeth a bit, both out of anger and excitement.

"See! That's what I mean!" Gin pointed childishly, "Yer like the only one who could replace him and still be called 'King'. It's downright hilarious."

The Espada's pride swelled at the remark. More than anything, he wanted to topple King and replace him as the "new" King. Something about duking it out over the title itself intoxicated Grimmjow. It nearly kept him from fleeing, which in reality was a smart move on his part—despite how badly he wanted to stay.

"Yeah~" Gin sighed, "Ya would've been perfect… Too bad…"

Instantly, Grimmjow ducked to the side purely off of a reflex, leaving Gin's outstretched arm and butterfly knife poised in mid-air. Backing up, down the train car, Grimmjow returned to his tensed and read stance. The over-smiling killer relaxed again, but this time in a pose that made his intentions obvious.

"How long have ya been in King's pocket, huh?" Grimmjow growled.

"Longer than ya know and shorter than ya'd think," Gin shrugged before lunging. By this point, all the rest of the passengers in that car had run off fearfully, so there was no one to trip over as Grimmjow bobbed and weaved while backing up. At this point, he could tell Gin was just messing with him.

Then came a slash, but the Pantera used his left hand to deflect the attack and counter with a powerful right hook to the face. The Espada had a nasty gash on his hand now, but Gin was disoriented enough to have to back off much to both of theirs surprise. Not wanting to lose this chance to gain momentum, Grimmjow swooped in.

He dodged a desperate thrust before delivering a solid punch to Gin's right side and was able to get another right hook in on Gin's face. With a simple duck, Grimmjow dodged a horizontal slash, this time grabbing the arm with the knife. He then proceeded to take advantage and unleashed a flurry of strong, right hooks to the assassin's exposed left torso.

Taking too much damage from the attacks, Gin made another desperate move: a headbutt.

The blow made both pause, and Grimmjow actually recovered first, giving a superior grin. But that was all Gin needed—a break from the offensive attack. Before the Espada had realized his mistake, the position of the aggressor had changed. Gin gave a left hook, followed by several elbow jabs to the other's head until his grip loosened. The assassin kneed him to finally make him let go, which gave Gin enough room to get a good kick to Grimmjow's chest, throwing him back and into a pole.

The two stared, trying to their breath.

"Jeez, yer pretty vicious," Gin's smile returned.

Grimmjow thought the same about the other but instead said, "Not bad, for a backstabber."

Gin stayed silent.

"So that's it? Nothing to say?" Grimmjow prodded, spitting blood.

Letting his head hang a bit, Gin snickered, "I can't believe I'm gonna tell ya… Ya better return the favor and kill King for me."

The Espada blinked, confused.

"Just sit," Gin closed and threw his knife to Grimmjow, "And then ya can try to kill me afterwards if ya want."

As Gin took a seat, Grimmjow debated on actually listening. There was always the possibility that Gin had another weapon, but the more he thought about it, the more the whole encounter felt strange. The assassin never took such a high profile approach.

Hesitantly, Grimmjow sat across from Gin. After a brief moment of silence, he said, "Well, speak."

"I'm not helping King. I'm helping the police. I'm their informant," Gin stated. Grimmjow couldn't help but snicker at the idea of a triple backstab. Taking note of the Espada's reaction, Gin continued, "I've been with them since before I met Aizen, helping them take down different big-named game… but once I joined y'all, I broke contact with them completely."

Gin's smile faded as he added, "But once we got involved with the Family, I got back in touch. Because of some previous work for the Family, it wasn't hard to weasel my way into their good graces."

"You sold us out," Grimmjow stated.

"I saved y'all," Gin snapped back defensively, "King was planning on having all of ya killed on the spot. I convinced him to use y'all—which wasn't easy by the way… That lunatic brother of his made sure of that…"

Grimmjow clenched his fist at the mentioning of Shiro. He didn't want to fight the albino, he just wanted him dead. While he never trusted the guy, his tricks cut too deep and too many of his friends had suffered because of it.

"He's first," Grimmjow exhaled, filled with a newfound determination.

Smiling again, Gin stood up just as the subway train stopped at the next station. He spoke as he made his way off the train, "Do whatever ya want, just make sure ya live."

Not turning to watch him leave, the Pantera simply grinned at a thought in the back of his mind: _I'm not alive unless I'm fighting._

Grimmjow lit a cigarette, "Guess I'm staying."


End file.
